Agim Hoxha's body found in back of his burnt out car in Chilworth, court hears

THE blood of murder victim Agim Hoxha was found on a wrecking bar bought by one of his alleged killers hours before his body was found, a court heard.

Prosecutor Nicholas Haggan QC told jurors how Arben Lleshi had gone shopping in Southampton on the afternoon of Monday April 9 at an electronics store in Bevois Valley and bought duct tape and long cable ties.

He then visited B&Q in Portswood where he bought the crow bar and some rigger gloves and as he made his way back to 285 Shirley Road he stopped and filled a green can with petrol.

It was that, the prosecution allege, which was used to set Mr Hoxha's car on fire in the early hours of the following morning.

The wrecking bar was later recovered inside Agim's home - next door to the alleged murder scene - and had blood on it which matched Mr Hoxha as well as Arben's fingerprints.

Mr Haggan said it was believed that Arben had driven the victims Mercedes coupe to Chilworth, his body having been placed in the footwell behind the front seats.

The court heard how cell sites which record mobile phone signals picked up both Arben's phone and Mr Hoxha's phones leaving the Shirley area around 1am on Tuesday April 10 and the vehicle was captured numerous times on CCTV.

He told jurors: "Arben drove the Mercedes to Chilworth Drove where, shortly after 1am he set fire to the car, probably using the petrol he had bought as an accelerant and causing burns to his own face and arms in the process."

At 1.22am a text message was sent from Arben to Afrim which said one word in Albanian "Mbarova" which means "I finished" or I am finished" jurors heard.

The prosecution claim both men, who say they are not related, were involved in the murder of Mr Hoxha because it "would have been a difficult task for one man to have overpowered and killed him and removed him from the building without some help".